Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held official talks with Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, H.E. Ms. Giorgia Meloni in Rome on May 20, 2026. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the strong momentum of high-level exchanges and excellent growth and diversification of bilateral cooperation.
They decided to elevate the India -Italy Strategic Partnership to the level of Special Strategic Partnership. They also agreed to hold annual meetings of leaders, including on the sidelines of multilateral events, as well as regular Ministerial and institutional-level meetings.
The two leaders engaged in comprehensive discussions covering the entire gamut of the India-Italy partnership. Both leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral cooperation across all domains of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029.
Both leaders agreed to further expand collaboration in trade and investment, defence and security, science and technology, research and innovation, space, energy, AI and critical technologies, education, culture and people-to-people ties.
They decided to establish a Foreign Minister level mechanism to regularly review Joint Strategic Action Plan. The leaders took note of the renewed momentum in bilateral economic and commercial ties, growing investments and efforts to build long-term collaborations.
In this context, they welcomed the exchange of three Business Forums last year. They also met select Italian and Indian CEOs representing sectors such as defence, digital, energy transition, infrastructure and logistics. Noting the shared objective of expanding bilateral trade to Euro 20 billion by 2029, both leaders agreed to leverage the opportunities from the India-EU Free Trade Agreement and called for its early implementation.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction on deepening defence cooperation through Ministerial and official interactions, exchange of port visits and regular engagement of defence forces. They welcomed the signing of Joint Declaration of Intent, an Industrial Roadmap for collaboration in co-design, co-development and co-production of defence products.
The leaders expressed satisfaction on growing engagements between researchers and scientific institutions from both countries. They welcomed ongoing collaboration between the Italian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation, and efforts to strengthen commercial space collaboration.
They also called for greater collaboration in the fields of AI, Semiconductors, critical minerals and other cutting-edge technologies, synergising India’s talented workforce and Italy’s technological prowess. Reiterating their strong commitment to combat the scourge of terrorism, both leaders agreed to continue cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels.
They expressed satisfaction at the implementation of Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism adopted in November 2025. Both leaders acknowledged the valuable contribution of the Indian diaspora in Italy and agreed to facilitate mobility of students, researchers and academia.
They agreed to celebrate 2027 as the "Year of Culture and Tourism between India and Italy”. They welcomed the signing of MoUs between India and Italy on cooperation on development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat and on recruitment of nurses from India.
Both leaders expressed their keen desire to build connectivity infrastructure through concrete projects and reaffirmed their commitment for the implementation of the India - Middle East - Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The two leaders also exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual interest, including developments in the Indo-Pacific, India-EU relations, and the conflicts in West Asia and Europe.
Prime Minister underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflicts. Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Meloni for the warm hospitality extended by the government and the people of the Italian Republic and invited Prime Minister Meloni to visit India at a mutually convenient time.